Hawks Reclaim Top Spot, Scuffling Warriors Drop Again

BANG NBA Power Rankings

1 (1) Hawks

RPI rank: 1

Comment: Atlanta vindicated itself well in a showdown with the Warriors. The Hawks are now 14-4 against the Western Conference.

2 (3) Grizzlies

RPI rank: 3

Hollinger title odds: 7.5%

Comment: Almost put Memphis first after its win over Atlanta. The Grizzlies have been really clicking since the Jeff Green acquisition

3 (2) Warriors

RPI rank: 2

Hollinger title odds: 44.9%

Comment: The Warriors haven’t played great the last few weeks. They’re 5-3 over their last seven and Steve Kerr probably considers the wins at New York and Minnesota as virtual losses considering how poorly they played. The All-Star Break can’t come fast enough.

4 (4) Cavaliers

RPI rank: 11

Hollinger title odds: 4.5%

Comment: Uh oh. Is Kevin Love coming around? If LeBron James’ Jedi mind trick works on Love, Cleveland becomes the scariest team in the East.

Warriors’ direction: The level of play has definitely dropped off lately. Some of that is because Andrew Bogut has been mediocre and greatest shooting backcourt ever has been slumping. Golden State needs Festus Ezeli healthy, or another reliable backup big, and some reliable offense off the bench. Stephen Curry getting back up to around 45 percent from 3 would work wonders.

Marinate on this: The Warriors reached 40 wins before the All-Star Break. They failed to reach 40 wins in. 16 of the past 20 seasons.

Notes: We’re listing two formula-based tallies for a guide, but the actual rankings are all our own. The RPI (relative percentage index) is computed based on winning percentage, schedule strength and opponents’ schedule strength. We’re listing the teams’ RPI ranking. Hollinger Playoff and Championship Odds were devised by now-Memphis executive John Hollinger when he worked at ESPN. Rankings and stats are through Thursday’s games.